EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $221,000 in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,076,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth $7,130,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth $6,506,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Avista during the second quarter worth $5,638,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Avista in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,838,000. Institutional investors own 85.24% of the company’s stock.

Avista Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AVA opened at $36.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.33. Avista Co. has a 12 month low of $31.91 and a 12 month high of $39.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Avista (NYSE:AVA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $383.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $389.29 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Avista’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AVA shares. Bank of America started coverage on Avista in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Avista in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.75.

Avista Profile

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.